Written by David E. Sanger, Michael D. Shear and Thomas Fuller
Facing warnings that the war-ravaged Gaza Strip is on the precipice of widespread famine, the United States on Thursday announced plans for a large-scale, amphibious military operation in the Mediterranean Sea that would ferry food and other aid to desperate civilians in the enclave.
The White House called it an “emergency mission” that would allow hundreds of truckloads of additional aid to be delivered to Gaza via the temporary port, which would be attached to some kind of temporary causeway.
Briefing reporters, officials said it could take more than 30 to 60 days to implement and involve hundreds or thousands of U.S. troops on ships just off shore, in keeping with President Joe Biden’s mandate that no American soldiers be on the ground inside Gaza as the conflict rages. The port would be constructed in cooperation with other countries in the region, the officials said.
American officials said that they had “worked closely” with Israelis as they developed the seaport initiative, but they did not specify whether Israel would provide direct assistance or support for its construction or operation.
Shani Sasson, a spokesperson for COGAT, the Israeli agency which regulates aid to Palestinians in Gaza, did not respond to a request for comment. One Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic negotiations, said that under the latest plan, aid donated by the United Arab Emirates would be sent to Cyprus, where it would eventually be inspected, then transported by ship to the coast of Gaza.
The new facility could provide another way to get truckloads of aid into the region. But it would not solve a central problem of distributing aid inside Gaza while intense fighting and Israeli bombing continues in the south and as lawlessness in the north has grown so bad that aid groups suspended operations there.
Until now, the United States has pressured Israel to allow more aid into Gaza through two border crossings and recently joined France and Jordan in airdropping aid from planes, including 38,000 meals Thursday.
The United Nations has warned that more than 570,000 Palestinians are facing “catastrophic levels of deprivation and starvation.”
It is unclear where the Biden administration intends to build its new floating port or pier off Gaza. Based on the description provided by White House and military officials, this one would be built from U.S. ships and then moved close to shore.
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